Post navigation

Hanukkah arrived early this year. Well, it was early depending on who you asked. Ben had been waiting impatiently since before Halloween.

The first night was a Sunday, so the Hanukkah bears had an activity waiting for the kids when they woke up that morning.The kids decorated gingerbread houses after a morning feast of Dim Sum.Jack and Adam were flying back from Colorado that morning so we made sure to save some candy for Jack.We also broke out the driedel game.While we slept that night, the Hanukkah bears had a huge silly string fight. The boys woke up to this…It was a school day today but as soon as we arrived home it was dark so we lit the candles and opened more presents.The Star Wars force in strong with us.

This year for Thanksgiving, with no family in the area, we decided to try out the new Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee. Last year they took over the old Key Lime Cove and completed a $65 million dollar renovation.

Ben and I had been to the old Key Lime Cove and although some of the things were the same, like the basketball pool, there were some new and exciting things to explore.

Like the wave pool…The kids enjoyed playing in this big open space even when the waves weren’t churning…The ‘toilet bowl’ slide was also a new addition…

Also the family raft, where almost all of our family could go together (max 5 people)…I’m pretty sure this fort is the same as before…

And these slides might have been here but last time I went with Ben we was too scared to try them? This time we took turns racing to see each other.We also spent time outside of the water park. Adam splurged on arcade cards.Jack won a golden ticket, and along with all the other Willy Wonka tickets he got, he got a whopping 2000 tickets. It was so many that he shared 500 each with each sibling.

Walking back to the room with all the prizes they won.

Adam also bought Sam and Aaron some stuff from the Magic Quest shop. Aaron got a magic wand that lights stuff up all over the hotel. And Sam got a shield and sword set.

Some of the kids tried the Adventure Ropes course. I was super proud of them all for attempting it, especially the twins! It looked scary. Afterwards, Sam and Jack went AGAIN!Thanksgiving night we booked dinner at the special Thanksgiving buffet. The kids were super silly at dinner, except for Jack who was exhausted! It was really nice to drop the electronics for a few days and connect as a family. I loved watching them all interact in different ways, forming their own special bonds. I was so happy that Ben had a good visit, this time around he was brave enough to try all the slides, something he could never do in the past. And I was so pleased that Adam could finally take a few days off work, he hasn’t had a day off in over a month (including weekends!).

I let them eat naughty cereal on vacation. Aaron collected all his Lucky Charm Leprechaun hats.

I know my oldest in only 11, but Halloween is teetering on it’s last legs already.

When we ordered his kid’s sized Large costume this year, it came up to his shins. We had to reorder an adult Small, which of course he was drowning in and I had to velcro, fabric tape and safety pin considerably.

Still I was pleased all of his friends (most of whom are now taller than me) were still game for it.We started on the busiest street in our neighborhood. They block off the street and there are many houses giving out full sized candy bars. Once we got there, the older kids dispersed. They were in a competition to see who got the most full sized candy bars and they all had their own strategies, including multiple costumes.Then, we headed back to the house for mummy dogs and chili. The parents socialized very civilly with adult drinks and conversation. The kids socialized by hyping themselves up on candy and sugary drinks and running through the house like made playing some sort of chase/tag game.

Aaron and Sam also were kind enough to take turns giving out candy to other fellow trick-or-treaters.

All the kids went to bed late, dirty, and crashing from sugar. I’d say it was another successful Halloween.

Corn Hole…And for the adults, we enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, catering from Oyster Bah and Summer House Santa Monica. Five kegs and many more adult beverages were scattered along the block as well.

Grandpa Devensky came up to help us this week.He arrived in time to join us for Ben’s last day of summer session, where they host an annual picnic.

This year, instead of being wrapped as a mummy, Grandpa took the honor.He also helped me take Ben and his friend to see the troll exhibit at the Morton Arboretum. Ben spent a lot of time separated from the other kids so it was super helpful to have another adult around.One night was had a delightful visit with Adam’s cousin, Brett, and his wife, their kids, plus one roommate and girlfriend.

Adam also scored tickets to a cubs game while Grandpa was here and they went with the older boys.

Over the weekend it was super hot and we cooled off at the water park. The kids were daredevils, the twins tried the diving board and big boy slide for the first time.

Adam, my other daredevil kid…

Ben spent many times experimenting on the fastest way to go down the fast slide. He decided crossing your arms like this was optimal…

I liked how Jack took some time to hang poolside with Grandpa.

We had a trip to Chinatown for DimSum.

And Grandpa helped me bring all these kids to Maggie Daley and Millenium Park for a day.

In the morning, the older boys played tag while the younger ones enjoyed the park.

Afterwards, we joined together for a picnic lunch.

Then we headed to the fountains to splash around.

We had a lot of fun activities, but as Grandpa always says, the best parts are not the planned activities. They are the down times, when you are just hanging around. When you have time to connect freely, unforced.Grandpa is great at that.

I was so incredibly grateful for his visit. Without his help, I couldn’t plan any of these fun activities for the kids! Thanks Grandpa for making the kids summer fun! (And for doing the laundry and dishes, and fixing the license plates on our car, and taking out the garbage, and putting the kids to bed at night!!!)

We had so much fun last year that the girls booked another reunion this year!

I was filled with the usual trepidation that I get when leaving the kids. I know how hard it is to watch the four of them by myself and hate asking Adam to do it for FOUR DAYS STRAIGHT all while balancing a job as well.

But Adam, perfect husband that his is, said, “You should do it!”

So I did.

There was a lot of hiking…

Broome Hut Hike

Red Rock Hike

Carbon 38 copies

Drinking and Eating…

IldeWild

Wine Tasting

And Shopping…

Kate becomes a twin, again!

Gina also gave us an awesome hula hoop class. And even awesomer hula hoop demonstration!But the best part of the trip was the stuff you can’t capture on film. The impromptu laughs, the closeness and camaraderie you can only feel with people you’ve had a long shared history with.

While I was enjoying adult time with my friends, my husband was playing super Dad.

He had an all boys weekend.

He taught them to play poker.

Ready for poker.

Played lots of soccer.

They golfed…And had a silly string fight!He also spent many hours playing the games they like to play…

Adam buys Aaron new markers to appease his drawing habit.

And took them to a birthday party in the burbs…

Ben’s Butt

Boys weekend also means no cooking…

Portillos

Chilpolte

Dee’s Chinese

Pop Tarts for Breakfast

Dairy Queen

Italian Ice at Annette’s

I’m not sure they were happy to see me back!

Thank you to Adam for giving me this great weekend, and thank you my girlfriends for organizing!

This week I told the twins that my friend from Kindergarten was visiting Chicago with her family.

For the twins, who have just finished Kindergarten, this seemed like no big deal. But for me, who finished Kindergarten THIRTY NINE YEARS AGO, this is quite a big deal.

I’m humbled and incredibly thankful that I’ve been able to maintain so many friendships over the years from so many different time periods in my life.

When Becca wrote a few weeks ago confirming she and her kids would tag along on her husband’s work trip, I pulled a Julie McCoy and sent an itinerary of stuff for us to do every single day of her trip that her husband was working. Then, realizing this might seem overbearing, I said she could pick and choose what she liked. She picked them all!

So, Monday we went out to the Morton Arboretum to play in the Children’s Garden and hunt for Trolls.

Tuesday we had them over for dinner. I loved how each one of them found a partner to hang out with. (Including the adults!)Wednesday we hit the Lincoln Park Zoo.

And Thursday we did the beach.

It was so nice to see that even though almost 40 years has passed, Becca and I can still fall into such an easy friendship. We giggled like a bunch of school kids all week.

With any luck, her husband will keep getting sent up here, and we can keep get more of these visits!

The past few weeks I’ve been debating in my head whether or not I made the right decision not to sign the kids up for summer camps this year.

It’s a lot of work being your own camp director! But at the same time, I realize I will not get the chance to make the plans for the day and force the kids to come with me forever. Luckily, Jack and the twins are very easy going and, for the most part, go along with the plans without question.

We did sign Jack up for 1 week of soccer camp. That was last week. I had the twins to myself and I used the time to visit all the old haunts that were my favorites when Jack was this age. We hit Adam’s park, Oz park, Mary Bartelme park, and Montgomery Ward Park.

Mary Bartelme Park

Mary Bartelme Park

I love Mary Bartelme’s unusual climbing structures and one of a kind mist sprayer.

Montgomery Ward Park

Montgomery Ward Park

We also fed the ducks at Montgomery Ward and had a picnic.

We also had a wonderful visit from our matchmaker, Andrew. He was in town with his sister, Chantal, (who connected me with many people in Hong Kong who are still my good friends today) and nephew visiting colleges. This week I’ve been trying to find activites that both 11 year olds AND 6 year olds will enjoy.

One day we did mini-golf.

Another day we took the boat to Chinatown for Dim Sum and Thai rolled ice cream.

Chicago Water Taxi

Tasty Legend Thai Rolled Ice Cream

We hit the beach too.

Jack and I did a long bike ride on the lake front while the sitter took the twins to a park.

We got back minutes before the storm clouds dumped out onto Chicago.

But even with all this planning, there is still a lot of down time to do what you want.

Jack has discovered the Xbox and spends many hours with his headset on, playing games with friends.

Sometimes he let’s Sam join. (Sam didn’t bother to get dressed for this photo. That’s what summer is all about!)

And Aaron has been busy creating more art galleries. Here are a few from his Star Wars collection.

Ben’s birthday and birthday party were celebrated on the same day this year.

He requested a Star Wars themed birthday party. Which I did my best to accommodate.

Before the guests arrived, I had a ‘Make Your Own Droid’ station set up for them. I also set up a Star Wars Cookie decorating station.Soon after guests arrived, the pizzas were delivered.

After lunch, we started the games. I organized only non-competitive games that the kids could easily win with.

First we did a glow-in-the-dark death star pass. The kids stood in a circle and threw the ball around. If they could catch it 10 times consecutively, they got a ticket. Next they played a star wars variation on ‘Red Light, Green Light’. Instead of yelling, “Red” I yelled something red, namely Darth Vader’s light saber. Yellow was C3PO. Green was Yoda.

Every time they passed me they got a ticket.Next we played sharks and minnows. If the kids got the balloons off of the adults, the entire team got a ticket each. It happened so quick I didn’t get a photo.

The balloons were also thrown randomly around the house for kids to find their own uses for.After the games we did a Star Wars Pod hunt. It was actually an Easter egg hunt but we stuck Star Wars stickers on the eggs for effect. I forgot to take pictures.

I also had a charades game planned that I completely forgot about!

But they had plenty of tickets to shop at the prize table.And when each kid left, Adam let them loot it for free again.

Next we got out the cake!There were a few really nice moments, like when Ben’s friend wanted to set up an Imaginex battle for him for his birthday because he knew who much he loved that.

I liked watching the impromptu soccer game unfold as well.Finally, Ben opened all his presents and Adam spent many hours putting them together with him.